The 116th Annual Hunger Games
by PixelsShattered
Summary: So let's assume for a second that the 74th Hunger Games had resulted in Katniss dying. No rebellion, no war, and life continues on normally. Come the 116th Hunger Games, the rules are a bit different. So come on, come check it our two Tributes from District 7 and their adventure in this crazy spin on a good ol' hunger games, complete with giant wolf-snakes, dinosaurs, and guns!
1. Chapter 1: The Esscense of The Games

**A/N: Yeah, I know, it's been quite a while. Personal stuff. Life. Anyway, I just went and re-watched The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay Part 1, and I decided I'd put some words on a page about them now. This will most likely be a one or two shot, depending on how much time I have and if I like how it goes.**

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I crouched down, vying for one last glimpse of my stylist. The last friendly face I'd see for the rest of my life, I thought, before the concrete barrier of the underside of the Capital's arena overtook the view from my glass elevator. A few seconds later, and the bright light of simulated sunshine engulfed my view. I raised my arm to shadow my eyes and get a better look at my competitors. Twenty-three other teens stood on equally separated podiums around the grassy field. The Cornucopia was full of various weapons, spears, swords, a few glaives and flails. Near the very center on an elevated small table, were several firearms. The topmost of was an International Arctic Warfare rifle, which, although a relic of the past, was surely the prize of the bloodbath that was starting in a mere thirty seconds.

The twelve other boys and eleven other girls around me tensed, prepared for the siren that would end several lives. A few tributes to my left was a boy who looked a force to be reckoned with. If his large torso, tree-like arms, and fearsome demeanor weren't intimidating enough, he was also an incredible sprinter, as everyone has witnessed on the training grounds track.

My plan? Well, to be honest, I only had one plan, which was to run. Great plan, you must be thinking, but I have some ground, trust me. Even I wasn't completely sure how I was going to survive the arena, but explaining isn't the way to go. Show not tell, right?

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I'd been in the Capital for three days, and to say the least, it was interesting. Of course, the third day was when training began. The only other tribute I'd met so far was the boy who was also reaped from my district. He didn't talk much, to be honest, but what I had gotten out of him, he was 18, his name was Colin, and he was strong. The last bit was obvious, as he looked like the Hulk had decided to start on steroids. The entire district burst into cheering when he took the stage. I did too, because there looked like there was no fesable way he was going to die in there.

We were led down to the training grounds by our mentor and previous district champion, who went only by the name Foxface. Her victory in the 74th Hunger Games was nothing less than spectacular, as she relied only on stealth and a small knife to survive. Since we were from District 7, we were on the seventh floor up from the training facility. Once we arrived, we were greeted by an official of some sort who laid down the laws of the land for us, just in case we didn't know not to kill each other before the games actually began. It was right then and there that Colin initiated a conversation with me. He drew me over to a bench, sat down and gave me this, slightly broken, tip.

"Do not worry about weapons, worry about yourself. You have good, strong, long legs. Tired tributes fight weaker than strong ones. Good swings don't come when you're tired out from running. If you bait people, get them chasing you, you can make them tired and beat them with your energy." He pointed out, as he gave me a thumbs up before getting up and joining the rest of the tributes.

That stuck with me. I sat for a bit, thinking, wondering, questioning. When I could think no more, I stood up and made my way outside to the small track and resigned myself to running laps. I was already a half-decent runner, but I'd never timed myself at long-distance. Maybe I am just a natural, but after clocking a few mile laps, I compared it to averages over the last few years, and I was easily a few minutes ahead. There was only one other tribute on the track, although she didn't look as apt for running as I. We chatted briefly, compared times, and wished each other good fortune in the upcoming Deathmatch.

The next few days, I ran my tail off. I improved my own time by a bit, ate as healthy as I could, and trained a bit with the pistols and SMGs, as well as the glaive and swords, but I spent the most time on the IAW, just to be safe. I guess I was as prepped as I'd ever be, and my interview with Cesaer reflected that rather well. I'm not sure how I came off to the Capital, but Foxface said that it really didn't matter, since sponsorships can only be used if I am alive.

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I gave the podiums one last sweeping gaze, and noticed that Colin had asked for wraps for his hands as his Last Right. Starting at the fourth Quarter Quell, each tribute was given a Last Right, or, an item or last request before entering the arena, although each needed to be approved by the Gamemakers. After my demonstration, I had asked for a pair of running shoes, instead of the standard all-terrain footwear the Capital provided. I looked down at my feet, confirming the shoes were in fact still there. To be honest, I was beginning to freak out. The clock read fifteen seconds. Fifteen seconds until all hell broke loose. I could hear the tributes to my right and left hyperventilating, same as I. Shaking my head to clear my mind, I crouched down in a sprinter's position, ready to take off for the silver cornucopia that would decide life or death for the twenty-four of us. Here it comes, I told myself, as the giant display neared the end of its sixty seconds.

Ten

Nine

Eight

Seven

Six

Five

I flinched, hearing a large explosion to my right. I looked over as the clock added ten seconds to itself and a cannon boomed in the distance. A tribute had attempted to take off early, and paid the ultimate price, I assumed. The Games hadn't even started yet and one of us had died. I only wondered who was next.

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

A siren flared off as the twenty three remaining teens raced for the giant mock-goat's horn in the center of the field. The games had begun.

 **So, continue or leave it there? That's why there's a comment section guys! If enough people want to know what'll happen to our unnamed protagonist, maybe I'll add more. Until then, I've been Pix, and I'll see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2: It's like Christmas Morning

**A/N: Well I'm back. Hopefully I'll be updating on a regular schedule. Hopefully. Anyway, I've decided that I am going to make this a two-shot. Of course, things like this usually take me a day or two to write, so the ending note is probably going to have any revelations I come to and if I will be doing any more chapters of this.**

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The siren rang off, and quite frankly, time seemed to lurch into slow motion. Twenty-three teenagers leapt off their podiums, sprinting to the horn of plenty in the center of the large field. I managed to make it seconds before the majority of the rest of the tributes, so I grabbed the first thing my hand touched. The slender shaft of a spear managed to win my grasp, whilst my other hand snatched up a backpack. Without a second thought, I sprinted away from the silver building and into the woods. Right before breaking through the threshold of forest, I looked over my shoulder to ensure I had no pursuers. There were none, but something even worse filled my sightline. The entire field had practically been painted red with the blood of tributes. I managed to catch a glimpse of Colin, the last in a while, I thought, before turning back around to continue my escape into the familiar. Seconds later, I heard cannons boom in the distance. Nine. Nine cannon blasts. No time to stop and mourn, I thought, as I continued my pace through the hilly, forested landscape.

It must've been hours until I stopped, but eventually I decided I was far enough out to be safe. The Capital had been generous enough to mention that the Gamemakers had near-complete control over the landscape, so I decided not to navigate by the hills and trees. Internal compass it is, I thought, as I sat down on a log to assess what was in my backpack. It definitely had some weight to it, so there had to be something good, right?

I peeled back the zipper and reached my hand into the black bag. I pulled out the first object; a long, black tube of some sort which had a hole that followed clear through. I racked my brain for a minute, before deciding that I'd figure it out later.I felt like a little kid again, opening my presents on Christmas morning. Then it hit me. My eyes filled with tears. I was going to die, wasn't I? It's not like I was going to win. If anything, it would come down to me and Colin and he would murder me in seconds. All I could do was prolong the inevitable. I was on the verge of breaking down and crying myself a river, but that thought of incomparable joy that was Christmas morning stuck with me.

Back in 7, they weren't spectacular, the workers only got half the day off and whatever money they had was small and generally had to be saved. That one day though, families would combine their money and buy something special, although it was often something like a mug or candle stand, but we were sure to celebrate it to the fullest. The year before, in particular, my brother had stumbled across a small pile of coins in the woods, and brought them back to our house without a thought. That year, we bought a candle and burnt it above our tiny mantle. It was the best Christmas I'd ever celebrated.

I'm sure I was on TV, and I'm sure the Capital really wished they had invested in mind-reading technologies, but I stood up and wiped my eyes. The sun was already beginning to set. Wow, the time within the arena was weird, I spoke softly to myself, before deciding to find a place to make shelter. After a few minutes of searching, I found an odd rock formation that would function just fine as a shelter for the night. After a quick sweep of the area, I crouched down to get a better look into the pile.

BANG!

A gunshot rang from the pile as a bullet narrowly missed my face and dug itself into a tree. I squealed in surprise and jerked away from the cave.

"H-hello? Is someone i-in there?" I nervously called out, hoping for voice to answer me.

"G-g-g-go a-a-away, I-I've got a g-gun!" a young boy, equally startled, shouted from the cave.

"Hey, don't shoot off that thing again, you want to get us both killed?!" I whisper-yelled at the boy. "Look, I just need a place for the night. We can help each other out here."

"J-just stay there. Plant that sp-spear too, and I'll come out." He called back. I obliged, taking my spear and thrusting it into the ground. The boy emerged from the cave, holding his handgun in one hand and a stick in the other. He appeared to be twelve years old, possible thirteen. Either way, too young. I felt bad as he eyed me over, obviously trying to decide between trusting me and shooting me on the spot.

"Any other weapons?" he questioned, pointing his pistol at my chest. I nodded, slowly producing the black tube from my back pocket.

"Well, does this thing count?" I asked, holding it out.

"Holy crap, let me see that!" he exclaimed, obviously seeing something in it I didn't. I handed the thing to him, and watched as he swiftly disassembled the slide on his gun and attached the tube, before reattaching the slide and holding it up triumphantly. "Thanks miss. You can come in if you want!"

"Well now, no need to be formal out here" I laughed as I crawled into the cave. It was bigger than it looked. Easily twenty feet in a circle with four or five feet of a ceiling. I never would've guessed from the outside, but there was a small fire burning by one side. I sat down, grateful for the rest I got to give my legs.

"So," He started, "What's your name and how old are ya?" He asked as he threw a stick into the fire and sat down across from me.

"Well, I'm 17, kid, and my name's May. I'm from 7. What about you?" I inquired.

"Eleven. Name's Jake. I'm twelve." He answered. Just then, the anthem blared outside. I quickly made my way out the cave, followed by Jake, as we watched the toll. The girl from 1, the boy from 3, the boy from 4, the girl from 4, the girl from 6, the boy from 8, the girl from 10, the boy from 12, and the girl from 12 all paid the price of defiance that day. Colin was still out there, which made me both happy and fearful, as I pictured him like a bear that never sleeps, prowling through the woods. Two people had died by him in one day, as the toll showed, and as the Capital logo flashed before the sky went back to dark, I wondered what he was doing right now.

Jake and I climbed back into the cave, him uprooting my spear and bringing it into the cave with us, before be pushed a few rocks up against the entrance. For camouflage, he told me, although it felt more like being sealed into a tomb. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd wake up, but it beat staying outside with the other tributes after my blood.

After quite some time, Jake's breathing had settled and I felt comfortable letting sleep take over. Maybe I'd dream pleasantly, maybe I'd wake up in heaven. I had no idea. But The Games had begun, and no one was safe anymore.

 **A/N: Well, if you couldn't tell, I've decided to turn this into a full-fledged story! In case you're wondering, the black thing was a silencer, and there's only one in the Arena, which was why Jake was so stoked. Anyway, I've been Pix, and thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: When the Cliffs Stand High

_I was back in District 7, sitting on my bed, bored out of my skull. I was counting the cracks in my bedroom's floorboards. Just then, my mother came in asking for me. She said it was important, but I really didn't care, I was just thankful for something to do. She handed me a sealed Capitol envelope, no doubt written by a peacekeeper. "Radios are down again, hun" was all she needed to say before I put on my shoes and took off into the woods. Since the workers were usually a few miles out, and I was feeling pretty good, I decided to pick up my pace. The woods were my sanctuary, even though 7's job was to cut them all down. This really didn't bother me too much, since they had to leave some around the perimeter of the district. Today, the workers didn't seem to be that far out from the rest of the town. Of course, on normal circumstances, I would be unable to, and probably get shot for, taking runs off the district, but radios were down and the Capitol was sick and tired of having to constantly rebuild towers that fell over, with the Games coming up and all. Luckily my sister was married to the brother of a peacekeeper. With some negotiating, I was assigned the title of "Head Terrestrial Messenger", or, rather, "This Girl Has Permission To Go Running About Outside The District With Confidential Information Because We Think It's A Good Idea", although the letters were usually simple things like schedule adjustments or bits of news from the Capitol. I arrived at the measly camp that the peacekeepers had set up to watch the men work. "Thanks kid" one said through his mask as I handed over the letter._

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I woke up to Jake absentmindedly poking at the small fire. I wasn't dead, which was good, I guess. I sat up and unzipped my backpack, deciding I should fully explore its contents. It's probably a bit more difficult to break down when there's someone else watching. I dug my hand around, and my hand wrapped around something plastic, round. I quickly produced a canteen, about halfway full. I'd better save it, I thought. Next was a knife and sheath, which I strapped on my left. I decided it was probably best if we set out.

"Hey Jake, you ready to get going?" I asked as I shouldered my backpack.

"Yea sure. Let me out this thing out and we can get going" he replied before stamping out the small fire.

I stepped to the entrance of the cave and shoved the stone off the doorway. A gust of sand immediately blew in. Everything I could see was desert. No cacti, no water, just dunes and dunes of sand. I'd care to wager the entire arena had transformed over the night. We looked at each other, before rolling the stone back over the entrance and sitting down to our course of action. Our hideout was significantly more visible, without the trees and hill that inconveniently vanished, as well as there being no other rocks in sight. Anyone trying to attack us would have an obvious surprise advantage, as well as positioning, so we had no chose to set out into the dusty plain. With luck, we would be fighting through a different environment tomorrow.

It had probably been hours, neither of us were sure. A cannon had gone off in the distance at some point, we guessed that it was dehydration's hold that time. The sun was roughly halfway up the sky, and the area we'd walked into seemed to be rather hilly. Of course, we stuck to one ridge, following it for the added cover. The entire arena seemed almost… abandoned. We had not encountered or even seen another tribute. That could be a good thing, but it made me feel like we were getting closer and closer to something. Something good? Maybe. Something bad? Probably.

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We'd been going for quite a while, that much was obvious. I'm still not sure if I should trust this girl, but she seems harmless enough. Plus, I've got the gun here, so who cares? The scenery was pretty cool, I'll give the Gamemakers that much, they sure know how to spruce up hell. We were following a tall ridge, which did give us a bit of shade as the day went on, but there was sand in my shoes and I'm pretty sure that I was rubbing some blisters pretty darn good. Not to mention I'd only had a small bit to drink yesterday, and my throat was feeling it. I'd gotten used to the hunger by now, but hopefully we would have to time to find something to eat tonight.

Mostly, we'd been walking in silence, since neither of us really had anything to say about our imminent deaths. Maybe, just maybe, one of us would make it. Odds are slim, with that big gun on the loose, as well as the guy from 7. What if we got that gun?

BANG

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Jake practically slammed into me. I flopped down with him, and made the split second decision to play dead. It had to be the IAW, and whoever had it would come to loot our bodies soon enough. I slid my hand into Jake's holster and wrapped my hand around the handle of his pistol. Somehow, the shot didn't make it to me, so it either embedded itself in the stone wall or somewhere in Jake. The cannon shot off, and I could only assume that it marked the end of the kid's life.

Soon enough, footsteps approached, and I could barely see the tip of the rifle. The gunman, or so I could assume, stopped a few feet away from me and crouched down. I was afraid to move, to be honest. My other hand was laying on my spear, and I rushed to come up with a plan to survive this. The gunman stood back up, distracted by some sound from behind them, and I took the opportunity to swing the butt of my spear straight into the back of his head and fired a shot straight through his chest. The cannon boomed in the distance.

I was surprised by the sound the handgun made. It was a small, high sound, like a dart or a puff of air. The sand around me was now slowly turning red with the blood of the tributes. To my consolation, the gunner did indeed have the rifle, which I picked up and shouldered. I looked in the direction the gunman was staring off in before his demise, and at first there appeared to be nothing there; just a few rocks and a dune. A rock shifted, although ever so slightly. I squinted, attempting to discern if it was just a mirage or something I should be worried about. I swung the sniper rifle off my shoulder and used to scope for a better view. After adjusting the zoom a bit, I managed to make out a few boulders, and an oddly shaped pile of smaller rocks. I zoomed a bit more, just to be sure, and I could clearly see the small pile moving. It appeared to be breathing, like an animal, a gentle rise and fall. I lowered my rifle, and moved down a bit away from the bodies, after taking what I needed. I sat down and removed the silencer from Jake's old handgun, and managed to work it on to the rifle. I laid down, zoomed in, and located the pile again. My finger laid itself softly on the trigger, and I took a shot at it.

The pile shot up. It appeared to be in the shape of a tiger or wolf, as it swept the area with its head, trying to find whoever planted a round in its back. Its glowing yellow eyes soon fixated on me, and it leapt off the boulder at a breakneck pace. I panicked and fired off another silent shot, which missed it completely. I jolted up, folded down the bipod and shouldered the massive gun, and realized I had nowhere to run from the mutt. I turned around, scanning the rocky wall for a way up, and began climbing as a last chance. It was still at least five hundred yards out, but I knew it would be on top of me in less than a minute if I didn't hurry it up. The wall was about thirty feet high, and I'd made fifteen when the beast arrived. It tried to jump up after me, and fell just short of removing my foot. It tried a few more times as I clung desperately to the cliff face. I tried to make a bit more height on the monster, managing a few more feet before I almost slipped and fell off, prompting me to stay put and wait the mutt out.

It didn't seem fazed, sitting there, waiting for me to fall into its grasp. My heart was quickening, and I knew that if I didn't top the wall I was going to run out of strength and fall. I began climbing again, making the rest of the cliff and pulling myself onto the sand. I leaned over the cliff and stuck my tongue out at the mutt. Childish, but it sure felt good. The sun was beginning to set, and the mutt walked away, defeated.

I decided to find some shelter for the coming night, with the point in mind that the arena might shift again. I ended up finding an overhand in a cliff that would do fine for the night. I didn't risk lighting a fire, since I was still rather exposed, but my dark jacket would likely be enough camouflage for one night. I decided now was as justifiable time to down a bit of my water, so I halved the water left, hoping I would be able to find some tomorrow.

The anthem blared in the sky, and I watched with a bit more interest. The boy from 1, who I identified as the gunner from earlier, the girl from 2, and Jake, the boy from eleven, which I took a moment to mourn. The anthem finished and I flipped my hood up and laid down. How had I made it this far, I'd never quite understand, but everyone's time comes at some point, and I was praying for mine would decide to wait.

 **A/N: Hey, I didn't abandon this! I had multiple big school assignments that, unfortunately, got priority, but I made it up and wrote a chapter double length! Anyway, next chapter will be up decently soon most likely, so until then, I've been Pix, and I'll see you there!**


	4. Chapter 4: Remember Me?

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Hopefully you guys like where this story is headed, I'm trying not to follow the common mold of sorts too much, but still make it fell like a good ol' Hunger Games, if you know what I mean! Also, after this is completed (I'm shooting for 10k words) I am going to begin a SYOT, which I'll detail more in the ending note of the final chapter, so consider this an early warning of sorts!**

The loud booming of a cannon woke me from my sleep. Funny, how the end of someone's day was the start of mine. That left eleven people in the arena. I sat up, taking in the surroundings. The sandy overhand I slept under had transformed into a rocky, snowy cave inside a cliff face a good hundred feet high. The desert had become a hilly expanse of blizzard and snow.

I stood up and stretched, noticing the low overhand was now a few feet higher, and checked my bag to make sure I still had everything. I pulled up my shirt and noticed how skinny I was getting. My arms were showing it too, with my usual thin layer of muscle near half the size it was before. I had to find something to eat, I thought. I unzipped my bag, pulling out the gunner's boots, which happened to be almost my size, and replaced my unfit shoes. I decided to wait out the wind and snow before I set out.

Less than an hour later, the harsh blizzard let up to light snowfall, and I packed up and set out. The travel was made tremendously easier with the boots, although they were a bit big on me. I wasn't quite sure where I was going, looking for food I guess. The light snowfall had picked up a bit more, but there wasn't anywhere to hide from it now, so I trudged on. In the distance, I saw something moving, and used the scope of my rifle to get a better look, not wanting to have a repeat experience from yesterday. The movement in question appeared to be a long, furry, snake-like creature wrapping itself around something. I zoomed in a bit more, hoping the fuzzy snake was edible, and planted a silenced round in its brain.

I shouldered my rifle and took off to my newfound prey, possibly lunch, and stopped when I saw the thing that it had been wrapped around. It appeared to be person. A big person. Although their hood was obscuring their head, it was obvious to me it was a boy. I stepped closer, as he laid face-first in the snow. No cannon blast, so whoever it was wasn't dead. I pulled my pistol out of its holster and held it on one hand, spear in the other. With the butt, I poked the snake—who was obviously dead—and then the boy, who shifted and groaned. I popped off the safety of my sidearm and stepped back a bit as he stood up, facing the other way, before violently turning around to face me. Standing before me was none other than Colin, however, he didn't look near as happy to see me as I was him. In his hand was a bloody knife accompanied by equally bloody wraps. Without hesitation, he swung it at me, and I barely jumped out of the way. He raised up, and I took my spear by both hands in an attempt to save myself. I threw my arms up, but his trunky build was more than enough to overpower me and throw me off balance. He reeled back swung with the butt of his knife, which collided cleanly with my head. I blacked out.

 **A/N: Short chapter, but hopefully the suspense will make up for it. As always, fell free to leave a comment, and next update will either be tomorrow or next weekend, depending on how free I am. Until then, I've been Pix, and I'll see you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5: Magic isn't Always Enough

**A/N: Well, remember when I said my days of MIAs were over? Yeah… oops. School has been pretty bad. Like, really bad. BUUUT I'm on Christmas break now, so I got a whole two weeks of free time to kill, and what better way than to complete the cliffhanger that I left last chapter?**

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District 7

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We all anxiously watched as our male district tribute struggled against a large, white, snake-like mutation. He'd been fighting the creature for a good five or ten minutes, and the beast was showing no signs of fatigue, where Colin obviously was. The mutt eventually wrapped its complete body around our tribute and began squeezing him to death. Many of us looked away, knowing well that there was no hope for him, that he would ultimately meet his downfall in the throat of the monster. He went unconscious, not quite dead yet, and the snake's head perked up, wolf-like ears twitching around, listening, looking, for something in the distance.

A little spot of blood busted out of the side of its head, followed by another out the other end, and the monster let out a deep roar as it flailed its head about before falling to the snowy ground. The screen cut to a fight between to other tributes, and nervous chatter broke out amongst the crowd gathered in the central square.

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The Arena

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I woke up to a peculiar feeling, a tiny, tickling, scratchy feeling all over my face. I opened my eyes, and sunlight blazed into them, and a felt multiple small sets of legs scurry off my face, and I caught a glimpse of the colorful tail of a lizard as I sat up. My head was throbbing, no surprise there, but perhaps the bigger one was that I even woke up. Why wasn't I dead?

I sat up, and to my continued amazement, the arena had again morphed into a completely different environment overnight. The cold tundra had been replaced with a humid jungle, complete with the wildlife, it appeared. After coming to a full stand, I realized just how thirst I was, and with only a little water on the second day, and some snow the third, I was probably going to start feeling it if I couldn't find any water, along with some food, since I hadn't gotten the opportunity to eat the fur-snake mutt. With no indication of which way to go, I set off downhill, since water is always at the bottom of hills, right?

It didn't take long to reach the bottom of the hill and, fortunately, there was a rather deep, slow stream awaiting me. I hastily filled my canteen and took a long drink. I did my best to drink enough water to convince myself I wasn't hungry, and to be honest, I felt a bit better. With nothing better to do, I sat down to rest. As I listened to the surreal sounds of the jungle; the birds, faint animal calls, and quiet flow of the stream, another sound caught my ear. A high-pitched beeping tone that seemed to be coming from above me. I looked up, and sure enough, there was a silver box with a tiny parachute caught in a branch a few feet overhead. I jumped up and pulled the box free of its parachute, and opened the sponsorship. Inside was an object most peculiar, a round that looked exactly like the rounds my rifle used, but the bullet was replaced by a small syringe in the casing. I pulled the funny round out of the foam bedding and noticed a piece of paper laying in the foam. It read:

" _You can do this May, there are only a few other people in there. Plus, if you don't, you'll have run your family near bankrupt for nothing! You wouldn't believe how expensive that tiny round is, and how important it is. Just, shoot a mutt with it and the thing will pretty much become a guard dog for you. It activates some sort of genome or something, I didn't read much of the information on it, but be sure to not waste it and, for all our sakes, please don't miss."_

 _~Mom, Lucy, and Grant_

I shook the round, and could feel some sort of liquid sloshing around inside. How a syringe-bullet was supposed to fire out of the incredible high-powered rifle was beyond me, but I had to have faith, someone would've said something if it wouldn't work, right? I was amazed that my mom and little siblings had that much hope in me, that they bankrupt the family for my sake. I carved a bit of the foam out of the case and plucked it on the tip of the syringe before sliding it into my pocket. A cannon boomed in the distance, shaking me out of my thoughts and into reality. Deciding I should get moving, I stood up, filled my canteen once more, and set out upstream, since I needed to regain the ground I lost coming down to the creek.

About an hour later, I heard a shrill cry, then another, then another. A pack of something was nearby, most likely some twisted Capitol mutts, which were not my choice of encounter at the moment. I broke off from the stream and started up the hill, the cries staying constant and a bit more frequent as I went, until I reached the top, where a wide plain greeted me. At first glance, it appeared empty, just thick green grass until the treeline took over again at the far end of the field. Not wanting to repeat my last few mistakes, I searched for anything even a bit off, and sure enough, there was a small patch of grass about sixty or seventy feet out that wasn't swaying in the wind at the same rate, and looked quite odd. I grabbed a rock nest to my foot and threw it out, far to the right of the clump, which landed with a barely audible "thud" into the dirt, and a few long, green-crested feathery heads popped up facing the direction of my little stone. The best way to describe it was that it looked akin to a skeleton I'd seen on the window of a Capitol museum on way to the training center. Urataraper? Utahrater? Something along those lines, and I figured it no stretch for the Capitol to remake it as a mutt, as the skeleton alone looked like a formidable predator. I slung the rifle off my shoulder and dropped the magazine out, removed the remaining seven rounds, and put the one syringe round in the clip, before popping it back in and bolting the slide. I took aim at the hardly-visible neck of the tallest one, and fired.

The rifle itself made no noise at all, thanks to its suppressor. The pack, however, made more than enough noise to compensate, as they all let out their shrill cries as the tallest one fell to the ground. From the jungle across the clearing came another group, and I noticed the feathers on the approaching herd seemed to change from an earthy brown and green to a solid, vibrant green as they crossed into the field. The two groups met, then headed off into the jungle the same way the second set came, leaving me and the one downed mutt alone. I put the actual bullets back into the clip and fed it back into the rifle before going to investigate my catch.

I made my way through the tall grass until I was confronted with the mutt, which I confirmed to be just like the museum window. It laid on its side, breathing softly, although unconscious. It had a theropod build with long, strong legs and smaller arms, a lengthy tail and decently large neck, of which a pink feathered dart was sticking out. I crouched down, not quite sure what to do next, so I sat and waited.

Not long after, the mutt flinched, then woke. I jumped back, not sure whether I was about to be eaten. I grabbed my sidearm and slipped off the safety. The mutt stood up, as did I, and it looked me straight in the eye. We stood there for a few seconds, just staring at each other. It stood, as if expecting me to make the first move. I stood, frozen not sure what to do, a bit surprised the little syringe was actually working. The syringe! I slowly lifted my hand up as the mutt tilted its head to where I could see it, and I plucked the little needle out of the mutt's neck. It made a low noise, perked up its head, and took off into the woods at an amazing speed, leaving me standing alone in the grass. With the sun waning low in the arena sky, I decided to call it an early night, since there wasn't much I could really do. I backed into the jungle and found a giant thee with an opening in its trunk partially covered by the slope of the hill I sat down with my legs crossed, covering my entire body in the trunk, and went to sleep.

About an hour later, a set of footsteps woke me up. A slow, thumping pair of footsteps that were approaching my little hideout. I pulled my handgun out and quietly undid the safety as they approached. Hopefully, I could put the person out quickly, no pain or fear. I listened closer as the steps got closer, and I noticed a sliding sound that was following; the person was dragging something along with them. The sounds stopped right outside my tree, and the nose of the same Utah-whatever poked into the opening, followed by the rest of its face. It seemed to want me to come out, and I hesitantly obliged. Next to my tree was a dead wolf-like thing, which I concluded my mutt friend had killed. It hadn't eaten it's prey, though. In fact, the tooth marks in the wolf's neck seemed to be the only markings on it. The mutt looked down at the wolf, then back at me.

"Is this for me?" I softly questioned, hoping it understood English, and the mutt looked back at me as if to say "Of course it is, you really need to eat missy!" I chuckled at the thought, and slid my pistol back into its holster and unstrapped my knife, and began cleaning the wolf best I knew how.

Eventually, I got what looked like the most edible parts out and made a quick fire to cook them on. The organs and such, I placed in a separate pile that Tooth (The name I decided to give to my new mutt friend after tripping and accidentally discovering that it was male) seemed keen to eating. I didn't mind, since I wasn't too fond of eating intestines and genitals. Surprisingly, the wolf meat actually tasted rather good, although it could've been because I was starving to death, and with a full stomach and new friend, who was also well fed, I finally drifted to sleep.

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 **A/N: I'm sorry, I really am, I meant to have this out last weekend, but I ran out of places for this to go, and I pretty much came up with this on the spot. A new friend for our protagonist, the Utahraptor Tooth. I even put my own crack at immature humor in there if anyone caught it, and made it another double length chapter. I can guarantee another chapter before New Year's, and to end this off, a question:**

 **What can I do to make this better? Any sort of feedback is immensely useful, and that's pretty much what keeps my writing these things.**

 **Also, if you're new to my writing, check out my other stuff, because I work really hard on it, and you might like it! That's all, sorry for a SUPER delayed chapter and this has been Pix, signing off!**


	6. Chapter 6: Ye of Little Faith

**A/N: Well, chapter 6 is already here, and the end is drawing near. Hopefully I'll be able to wrap this up without making it sound cliché, since I really want this to be a decent story. Also, thanks a ton from Gibbo for the review, and I hope you enjoy! WARNING: Kinda sad part. Depends on how you define sad.**

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I yawned, stretching out my arms, and took in the new landscape before me. At first, I wasn't quite sure what it was meant to be, but I came to the conclusion that today was meant to be more of an example to the districts than to the tributes, as the area had become a city in ruin, most likely District 4 or 5, although it could be any generic city, as concrete barriers were everywhere, and few police barricades were haphazardly spread across the street in front of me. I stood up from my lean in a crater in a wall, and noticed Tooth, whose feathers had morphed into a steely grey color overnight, sleeping on his side a few feet away.

The sky was incredibly overcast, but the sun's faith glow through the clouds told me that it was roughly 9:30 am, Arena time. My entire sleeping schedule is going to be off for days, assuming I manage to leave this place. Assuming I survive until the end. Assuming I survive the day. Fortunately, I hadn't encountered any hostiles since the gunman and Colin, which was two or three days ago, and I figured that the only way to get out was to e the last one standing, which meant I had to kill people. The most humane and efficient way, I reminded myself, was how I was going to do it. With food in my stomach from last night and whatever I could try and preserve in my bag, Tooth and I set out into the lost city.

I could only imagine my odds went up with the befriending of the mutt, although I had no idea how he'd preform in combat, simply his presence was likely to be enough to ward off anyone who sees me first. With that bit of assurance, we continued on, eventually encountering an apparently sound building roughly 10 stories high. I slid my pistol out of its holster and clicked off the safety before quietly opening the door. I stopped in the lobby, listening for any sounds that could warrant danger, and, I heard something. At first, I thought it was some sort of broken plumbing or air conditioner, but I quickly debunked both those as I could see a figure curled up in a ball rocking back and forth ahead of the front desk to what I could only assume was a hotel. Tooth frilled up his feathers and made a low growling noise, and I almost let him attack, but I put my arm in front of him, calming the mutt, and approached the person.

"Hey," I whispered, "you alright there?" as the eyes of a girl I couldn't believe was old enough to be reaped raised up to meet mine. She was small, I would guess she stood less than five feet, and had pale skin, a soft, tear-streamed face, and curly red hair. He clothes were ripped and frayed in innumerable places, and she looked as if she hadn't slept, or eaten, in days.

"P-please," she softly answered, "End it. I c-can't take it anymore, j-just, end it." I wasn't sure what to do, to be honest, and caught in the moment, I reluctantly handed her my handgun.

"Thank you, and, keep this for me." She said as she revealed a steel butterfly knife from one of her pockets, and placed it in my hand. "I hope you win…" she smiled with teary eyes at me, before pulling the trigger on her head. A cannon boomed in the distance, marking the girl's death, and leaving 6 other people in this godforsaken arena. With tears in my eyes, I took the pistol from her limp hand and put it in its sling. I wordlessly made my way across the room to the wide spiral staircase, and walked up to the top floor, Tooth, quietly, following in tow. I reached the eleventh floor and opened the door to the nearest room, before leaning my rifle out the window and looking for any targets to put out of their misery. Quickly. Painlessly. I couldn't see through the scope, my eyes still filled with tears of mourning for the girl I'd just witnessed suicide. She's happier now, I reminded myself, but the more I thought about it, the more unfocused and unsteady I became. I gave up, setting my rifle down and sitting on the bed of the hotel room. I took the butterfly knife out of my pocket, and attempted to do a trick I'd seen someone in the training center doing, to no avail. I tried again, failing once again, and cutting my knuckle. I threw the knife on the bed.

What had I just done? Let her kill herself?! I could've helped her, she could've made it. Sure, she's happier now, but what about her family? Friends? People who depended on her, who put faith in her, who-

 _Faith._

I couldn't stop now, there were people who had faith in me. My friends, my family, who _need_ me to win. Someone that pale had to be from a place like 1. A place that didn't need anything. Yes, a father and mother just lost their daughter, maybe their family name, but it was more humiliating than sad for them. A career giving up and breaking under the pressure? They didn't care if she won or not, but they wanted her to go down in a blaze of glory. I could hear the Capitol ship flying above the building, no doubt beaming up the body or whatever they did these days.

The arena sun was setting, and I was exhausted. Seven of us left, I reassured myself. Surely all seven of us were going to die, six by each other and the last by fame. There was no escape, was there? Who cares who wins? The only things at stake anymore district pride. The Anthem blared outside, and I could see the toll in the sky.

Lilly Chase, District 2 Female. Killed by: Assisted Suicide.

The other was the boy from 8. I sighed, rolling over, and fell asleep under the warmth of a good blanket for the first time in days.

 **A/N: I just realized that I never posted this. It's literally been sitting in my Drafts folder 95% done until now. I'm sorry for the huge delay, but I can say another update will be out the weekend after next, since I'll be in Florida next weekend (woo!) I also started an ARK** **story, also featuring May, so check that out too if you want!**


	7. Chapter 7: Shell-Shocked

**A/N: Well, after this I'm off to Florida for a few days, so nothing's coming out while I'm gone. This is probably the last update I'll put out until next weekend, so hopefully this is good enough to hold over.**

I woke up in a cave roughly the size of the hotel room I'd fallen asleep in. Except it wasn't the hotel room I'd fallen asleep in. My things were scattered around, but everything seemed to be there, or, at least everything that came to mind that should be there was. I packed up everything and peered out the "door" to my cave, only to find I was staring down a drop of at least 20 feet. Below that was a canyon, and that seemed to be the Arena's environment of the day. Above was an overhang that appeared to prevent anyone from climbing out, essentially trapping us remaining tributes in a red rocky maze, comparable to that of the old-Panem's Grand Canyon.

After making my way down onto solid ground (or in Tooth's case, just jump down), I decided to just pick a direction and go. It was oddly quiet, no distant gunshots, no cannons, no birds. After an hour or so, I came across a waterfall that flowed from the top of the canyon, and stopped to rest and drink up.

While I sat and thought, I noticed a shell on the ground. Then another. Not like a seashell, no, these were bullet shells, huge ones at that. At first glance, I assumed they belonged to a heavy-caliber rifle like my own, but the sheer volume busted that, since there was no way a single person could fire (no less, get ahold of) that many shots. I began to follow the short trail, and discovered an empty box-looking object. The top was open and it has a slant along one corner. What it was, I wouldn't know, but the abundance of shells led me to believe they went in the box. Maybe some sort of extended clip or storage device. Judging by the sun it was roughly noon, and there was no way I could've missed the massive weapon firing off since I woke up. Of course, I might have slept through it, although that is also hard to believe.

Eventually, I decided it was time to get moving again, figured I'd start off in the direction of the trail of shells. For the most part, it was peaceful, just walking along. Of course, that was if you overlooked the fact that there were multiple other people in the area out for my blood. Not long afterwards, the path had a branch off that led to higher ground, and I decided to take the advantage higher ground would provide. The offshoot trail followed the cliff's edge and gave me a view to the path below.

After a while, the higher road I was on sunk back down into the path below, and the adventure continued on. The cliffs opened up a bit to reveal possible the area the cornucopia originally existed in, and I noticed another shell on the ground, just like the others from before. Whoever was leaving these behind obviously took the same path as I had, and, odds are, we'd encounter each other soon enough.

I was already paranoid enough, knowing that there were even people out there, but knowing how close they were, and knowing the firepower they brought with them, my hairs were practically standing on end. Suddenly, in the distance, I noticed something. At first, I passed it off as birds, but it obviously was not. The sound sounded just like a flock of birds, but there were no birds in sight, and the sound did not stop.

KTAWG KTWANG KTWANG KTWANG over and over coming from across the canyon, and as soon as the noise—gunfire—stopped, a cannon boomed off. I took off in a sprint across the wide area to the other end, and abruptly stopped when I could hear two voices coming from around a corner in the cliffs.

A boy and a girl, no doubt about that, and if I had to guess, both from 5 or around that area, since they definitely had the accent. "Another box?" the boy asked and I could head an item being thrown. _Shlink, Thump, Click, Shlirrrrnk, Phrick-chick._ And with that, I determined where the shells were coming from, and probably where the box came from.

I waited, and it sounded like the two had gone on their way. I peered around the corner, and saw the two a good ways down the straightaway. One was a bit taller than the other, although the shorter of the two was carrying the gun. I looked down the scope and managed to pick out the taller one was the girl, and the shorter was the boy. Across the girl's back was a gun that I could only describe as a short rifle with an attached grenade launcher and no magazine. Or maybe the grenade launcher-shaped attachment was the magazine. I unscoped to see a Capitol dropship fly over to retrieve the body, and that's when I realized…

I just screwed myself over.

The dropship was loud, and the two turned around. And saw me. One of them yelled and they both took off in a sprint at me. I panicked, scoped, and completely missed the chest of the boy. The girl began firing at me, and, although the shots missed, I freaked out and scoped my rifle, pulling out my sidearm and I opened fire, I'm not quite sure at who, but I didn't hit anything. The boy stopped about a hundred-fifty yards out, planted his foot, and began rocketing off his light machine gun. Tooth took off at the attackers, and made it about halfway down the stretch before being shot in the leg and chest, and the mutt collapsed, before vanishing into thin air. Shots were flying everywhere, most of them above my head and I began to back off while returning fire with my pistol. I hit the girl on the arm, and she dropped her gun and fell over. I switched targets and managed to hit the boy square in the chest, but not before taking a bullet to the leg. The second my bullet made contact, the firing stopped, a cannon boomed, he fell backwards, and dropped the terror-rifle. I walked forward and retrieved my rifle, and realized.

There was only one cannon.

I looked up, and the girl was gone, nothing but a bloody puddle and a tube of something. Half-limping over to the tube, I picked it up and noticed it was a clip. A magazine, apparently to her gun. Odd, the cartridges looked very similar to my handgun bullets. The boy, however, lay dead, and I took the opportunity to take what I could before the Capitol ship arrived. There wasn't much, but he did have a bag of granola and a mostly-full canteen, as well as his own handgun with a few extra clips. Also, he had a roll of gauze, or, about half of one left, which I added to my bag.

I wasn't going to try and lug the machine gun, which I identified as an M60 by the engravings on its warm barrel, as well as a rough scratch onto the stock which I couldn't read, although it resembled a heart shape. Maybe those two had something going on. I didn't want to think about it, and I couldn't, with the searing pain in my freshly-shot leg. Tooth was gone, it was probably his time anyway, but there wasn't time to mourn. Hell, I could barely stand, much less walk.

In my medical opinion, the bullet needed to come out, the sooner the better. I drug myself over to the wall of the cliff and began trying to work it out with a knife. I clenched my teeth as I tried to find the metal bullet in my flesh, and, after a bit of digging, I found and extracted the shot. I quickly bandaged up my profusely bleeding leg and tried to stand, but the pain was just too much for me.

The sun was waning low over the canyon and I decided it was as good of a time as any to try and sleep. Exposed as I was, I let myself slowly drift off against the rocky canyon wall.

 **A/N: Well, this is probably the last thing coming out this week, and a special thanks to Doc Derp for helping me along with the idea for this chapter. Until next time, I've been Pix, and I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8: Endgame

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back, and this is actually the last chapter, and it's kinda short.**

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 _After that, I died._

 _Yeah, I wasn't too keen to believe it either, but it was weeks before I woke up. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on. It had to be a dream, I told myself, but no, it wasn't. I was alone in a room with stitched-up scars all down my chest. Something felt… peculiar. I sat up fully in the bed and pulled back the sheets. One leg, but where was the other? All that remained was a patched stump. My throat felt incredibly scratchy, and sore, like it had been cut. Now that I thought about it, everything was a bit fuzzy. What happened? After I sat for a minute, the door opened, and a peacemaker came in._

 _He filled me in. I died, the Capitol brought me back from the dead to be a peacemaker. Apparently it was common practice. Secret to the districts, of course. He told me I'd be getting a new leg. Some top-of-the-line Capitol technology, too. I'd seen the peacemaker's carbines before, but I was sure they'd take a bit of getting used to._

 _So here I am, ex-tribute, loser of the 116_ _th_ _Hunger Games, and Peacemaker May._

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 **A/N: Hopefully this doesn't sound like a cop-out, but this is really how I'd envisioned this ending since day 1. I wouldn't have my tribute win, that'd be to cliché, and I didn't want to have to have some sort of noble-sacrifice-type thing since that's lame. Anyway, it is with a clear conscience and heavy hand I move this story from in-progress to complete. This has been a truly wild ride and I've loved every second. For now, I've been Pix, and I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Just in case anyone was wondering, the Victor is the girl who escaped the firefight last chapter. For canon's sake.**


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